Tooth decay can be extremely uncomfortable and puts the teeth at risk. Many extractions and restorative treatments are performed every single day because tooth decay has become too severe for the dentist to save the tooth. Diagnodent is a safe, fluorescent laser that detects hidden tooth decay accurately, quickly, and in its earliest stages.
All dentists are advocates for healthy, natural teeth. Restoration devices like crowns and bridges are popular because they allow the natural tooth to remain in the mouth. Diagnodent accurately exposes areas of tooth decay without scratching, probing, or opening up the tooth. This provides a greater chance of identifying, treating, and retaining a natural tooth without the need for expensive and time-consuming restorations.
How Can Diagnodent® Help Me?
Diagnodent accurately exposes more caries than x-rays and examinations. In fact, this revolutionary diagnostic tool is over 90% accurate. Sometimes, caries go underground due to fluoridation. This essentially means that lesions that once lay on the surface of the tooth bed down and remain invisible to the naked eye. Because Diagnodent exposes caries earlier, more treatment options are possible.
Here are some of the other benefits associated with Diagnodent:
- Allows dentists to perform treatment with greater confidence
- Allows for the investigation of suspicious areas
- Completely safe
- Cost effective
- Empirically measurable results
- Helps reduce future dental procedures
- More accurate than any other diagnostic tool
- No exposure to x-rays
- No need for invasive investigations
- No pain or scratching
What Does The Diagnodent® Process Involve?
The Diagnodent process is performed within the scope of a regular dental check-up. It is strikingly similar to having a laser pointer aimed at the teeth. Diagnodent is a hi-tech tool that first scans a clean tooth surface with a laser beam. This scanning procedure serves to calibrate the instrument by providing information about the tooth structure.
The Diagnodent System is actually measuring the amount of laser fluorescence within the tooth. As each tooth is scanned, the amount of reflected laser light is recorded to produce a digital readout. If the tooth contains little or no decay, little or no laser light will be reflected back to the instrument. However, if a tooth contains caries of any significance, more laser light is reflected back. High readings (compared to the tooth originally scanned) indicate that caries are present within the structure of a particular tooth. The amount of laser light reflected back correlates with the amount of decay within the tooth.
Once the dentist determines which teeth are suffering from decay, a plan can be formulated, and treatment options can be discussed. In most cases, the early detection of caries means more treatment options and a greater chance of saving the affected tooth.
If you have any questions about Diagnodent, please ask your dentist.
Early Detection & Honest Treatment Planning
At South Suburban Family Dental in Blue Island, IL, the value of a diagnostic tool like Diagnodent aligns directly with the honest, patient-centered approach our practice has been built on since 1983. Catching decay early is not just a clinical advantage; it is a meaningful financial and practical benefit for every patient. A small cavity identified and treated at an early stage requires a simple filling. The same cavity left undetected until symptoms develop may require a crown, a root canal, or, in the worst cases, an extraction followed by a more involved tooth replacement. Early detection consistently means simpler treatment, lower cost, and better long-term outcomes for the patient in the chair.
Our doctor believes strongly in helping patients understand exactly what is happening in their mouth and why treatment is being recommended, and diagnostic tools like Diagnodent support that commitment by providing objective, measurable data that makes the conversation about decay clear and concrete rather than subjective. When a patient can see a digital readout that confirms the presence of early decay in a tooth that shows no visible signs of a problem, the recommendation to address it promptly makes intuitive sense rather than feeling like an upsell.
For the families and individuals of Blue Island, IL, who have trusted South Suburban Family Dental for their dental care across decades, tools like Diagnodent are simply part of what reliable, modern, community-rooted dentistry looks like when it is done right. If you have questions about Diagnodent or any of the diagnostic tools we use at our practice, our friendly team is always happy to explain what each one does and why it benefits your care.